Perfect Imperfections
by shelizabeth
Summary: Jolex fanfic.I read all the ones already written and still couldnt get enough of these 2. Prob Jo-centric cuz I'm obsessed with her right now but plenty of Alex cuz I want to marry him. Let me know if you want me to continue it! Thanks if you read it :) Post 9x24. U can also message me on tumblr
1. Chapter 1

Waking up, Jo felt a stiff neck. She placed her hands over her face and rubbed back and forth trying to wake herself up. Focusing her eyes on the digital clock next to Alex's bed, she realized she had to leave for the hospital in 25 minutes. Suddenly alert, she quickly rolled over to see an empty spot where Alex laid hours ago. Dressing with little care, she quickly trotted down the stairs hoping she'd find Alex still waiting.

"Morning Princess." He was standing facing her, with a box of cereal in his hand.

She couldn't hold back her smile, despite her effort to look annoyed. "Why didn't you wake me?!"

"I would have… you just looked so…"

"Cute?" She teased.

"I was gonna say dead. But I guess that works." He mocked back, a smile escaping. Again, she failed at stopping her smile. She broke eye contact suddenly and snatched the cereal box out of his hand.

"Did you save me any?" She said, reaching her hand into the box.

"Hey!" His fake anger was clear before he picked her chin up to kiss her. She let her hands travel up to curl around the side of his face.

"Have a good day." He breathed, pulling away. Her hands slid down his face as she smiled and she gave him one more peck.

"See you at lunch?" She asked, grabbing her bag and starting to turn to the door.

"Have you seen Jo?"

"It's not my job to keep track of your girlfriend, Alex." Meredith replied, her eyes unmoving from her tablet full of patients information.

Alex rolled his eyes. "I know, Mer. I'm not asking you to keep track of her. I was just ask-"

"Well it sounds like you are." Cristina says sarcastically, spinning around her in chair and biting into a deep red apple.

Annoyed, Alex turned to walk away. "I was just kidding, Evil Spawn," Cristina says turning to Meredith, "jeez, what's his problem?"

Alex started to make his way to the place Jo told him about her past. Somehow this had turned out to be the spot Jo goes back to that place. That place where she's anxious to run away and trapped with nowhere to go. With sunlight beating down on her face, her eyes rest gently. Not saying a word, he quietly sits next to her. Her hand wraps around his, and expecting that he was unnoticed, he looks to her face in quiet surprise. A narrow path has made it's way down her cheek where the tears have passed through.

"Jo…"

At the sound of his voice, she squeezes her eyes tighter knowing what was coming next. When she opens them and looks at him, suddenly the quiet tears have become tsunami's and are overcoming her breathing.

"Jo. It's okay, breathe. Breathe. I'm right here. Whatever is wrong I can help you through it. We can overcome anything. Don't cry. Please don't cry." He says, his hand gently reaching up, his thumb softly wiping underneath her eyes.

Suddenly, a laugh escapes Jo's mouth. "Why? Does it make you uncomfortable? I'm sorry." She laughs.

"What? Shut up. No. It doesn't make me uncomfortable. It… it breaks my heart." Alex asks clearly taken aback by Jo's accusation. With a softened face, Jo rests her head on Alex's chest. Suddenly, she begins to hate herself. Because in this moment, wrapped up under Alex's arms, she's never felt so safe and wanted. And she hates that she doesn't feel this good without him.

"My mom is at the hospital." Jo says into Alex's chest.

"What?" It takes a moment for Alex to understand. "Your…? Like one of your foster moms? Mrs. Schmitt?"

Looking up, Jo shakes her head slowly.

"You mean?"

"My real mom. Well, the woman that left me at a fire station after two weeks with me. She knows I'm here. She asked for me."

"Did you..?"

Jo, breaking away from Alex's arms, shakes her head again. "I couldn't. I mean have so many questions. But I just couldn't. I mean, I don't know why I even care. But what if I'm not what she imagined me to be? What if I don't live up to her expectations? Or..," Jo's voice shrinks, "she doesn't live up to mine."

"Jo. You are such a beautiful, intelligent, strong, incredible woman. You worked your ass off your entire life for the end point that you've already reached. At 26 years old. You're a surgeon. You save lives. Sometimes not even in the operating room. Sometimes, you save lives just being a part of them." At Jo's puzzled face, Alex continues, "you are the best thing that could ever have happened to me. You are the brightest part of my life. And anyone who doesn't see that or who would give up a single day with you doesn't deserve even a minute with you."

Jo meets his lips with hers. "I love you, Alex Karev. Even when you're a stupid jerk face," she breaks away from the kiss with a smile, "will you come with me?"

"Of course I will." Alex responds, reaching out his hand. And Jo has never felt anything more beautiful than the shock that runs through her body when she places hers in it, "let's go, my Princess."


	2. Chapter 2

Jo approached Chief Hunt with Alex in tow. "You paged?"

"Yeah. Um, personal matters. Do you..?"

"Yeah. I know what it is. Um, what room?"

"321." Owen said, clearly relieved he didn't need to explain the situation.

"Ready?" Alex said, giving Jo's hand a little squeeze. Nodding for a response, she hoped her doubts were hidden by her brave face. "It's okay to change your mind." Alex said, reading her mind.

"No. I'm ready."

A woman that looked to be in her mid 40's sat in a patient room, reading a magazine. Jo walked in hesitantly.

"Josephine?" She asked.

"Jo." Jo corrected. "Hi."

"Jo. How are you? Wow you are beautiful. And a doctor. You did so well for yourself."

"Thank you." Jo responded coolly. "What is- what is your name?" Jo stammered, "I'm sorry. It's just that I don't know anything about you. Not even your name."

"Sarah."

"Oh, hi. Sarah." Jo said, the words feeling weird on her tongue.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, including why I'm in here. I promise I wasn't stalking you. It's actually a funny story. I can answer anyth-"

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why?" Jo repeated, louder. Alex tightened his grip around her hand to show his support, "why did you leave me? Why couldn't you have done anything better for me? Found a couple that wanted me? Why wasn't I worth anything more to you than a trip to the fire station?" At the end of her last word, tears slipped down her cheeks like sad raindrops on cool windows.

"Jo, please understand. I thought I was doing what was best..."

"By dropping me off to die?"

"NO! No! I was young. I didn't understand. I thought you'd get adopted. I imagined a fairytale story. A firefighter falling in love with your bright eyes the way I did and wanting to keep you and raise you on his own. I never imagined... I never let myself imagine..."

"What? The constant abuse and neglect I'd experience as a foster child? That at age 16 I'd be homeless living in my car?"

With eyes full of tears, the middle aged woman looked down. "Your father. He wanted me to have an abortion. I wouldn't. I knew. I just knew some day that the beautiful baby inside of me would be important in the world someday," Sarah looked up at Jo, "and look at you now. You save lives. I knew you had a purpose. I knew you were supposed to be here. I tried to keep you. I was in love with your father, you have to understand. I thought he was a good man. That after meeting you, holding your little body, that he'd fall in love with you the way I did. But he was 19. And I was 16. He didn't want to be tied down to me. I told him he could leave but he wouldn't believe I'd never come for money. One day... one night..." she corrected herself, "one night, I got home. You were under a pillow. He said you wouldn't shut up. I took you and everything I could fit into your little pink bag and left you at a fire station...

I'm so sorry, Jo. I didn't know. I didn't know anything. All I knew was that he was going to kill you if I kept you the way I wanted you. And you were destined for big things. I knew you were going to be so much bigger and brighter than I could ever imagine. And look at you... look at you.." Sarah reached her arms out gesturing to Jo. "I don't expect you to ever forgive me. But I don't want you to spend anymore days thinking you were unwanted by your own mother. I wanted you more than anything."

"W-what happened to him...? My father?" Jo stammered out.

Sarah looked down to her feet as she responded. "I never got out. I ended up marrying him. One day the neighbors called the police during a bad fight. They found me in a pile of blood. He's been in jail since. That was three years ago. I-I'm still recovering, I guess. It was hard. I never had any more kids. I got pregnant twice. But each time, I-I miscarried. He threw me down the stairs and stabbed my stomach. That was when the neigbors called the... He never let me go to the hospital..."

"I-I should go. Thank you, um, Sarah. For telling me this."

"You're... you're welcome." Sarah said, surprised at Jo's quick upheaval from the conversation.

"Are you okay?" Alex spoke, after silently standing next to Jo for so long.

"What? Uh, yeah. I'm good." Jo said, her mind elsewhere.

"Jo? Do you want to go home for the day? I can come with you. We can spend the day doing anything you want. I'll even watch one of your sappy chick flicks." Alex tried to tease. Jo's smile in response seemed forced.

"Ha ha. Thanks so much but I'm good. I want to work, really. It will be good for me."

"If you're sure. I have a hernia repair on three week old in a half hour if you want to scrub in."

"That would be great." Jo said, pecking Alex's lips.

"Mer, I'm really worried about Jo. I don't know what to do..." The genuine concern in his voice sparked Meredith's attention.

"What do you mean?" She said, looking up.

"Well you know how she met her birth mom?"

"What?! She did? She didn't know her birth mom?"

"Um.. yeah. Well. No. She didn't. She thought she was abandoned by her. But she just met her. You can't tell anyone I'm telling you this. But since she met her, she's been acting so weird. She doesn't eat, and she always pretends to be asleep when I know she isn't. I don't know what to do to help her. You were abandoned by your dad right? So you can help?"

"I mean, I can talk to her if you want." Meredith said, both shocked at his bluntness and touched by his concern for Jo.

"No, she can't freaking know anyone knows. Don't you listen?" Alex said, frustratedly walking away to go home.

"Jo?" Alex calls as he opens the front door to the house he now owns. He doesn't get a response, but that's normal nowadays. He looks in the kitchen before heading to the couch. He finds her laying on the couch, eyes wide open, in the quiet darkness. "Jo?!" He says quickly, rushing to take her pulse. She doesn't even blink at his touch. "Jo, what the fuck is the matter with you? You scared the living shit out of me," tears welling up in his eyes, he continues, "respond to me damn it! Jo! If you need to talk, talk to me. If you need to hit something, hit me. Please. Anything.

You know what? Fine. Don't talk to me. Don't let me be there for you. Push me away like you've pushed away everyone who ever cared about you. You know you think you've had this terribly shitty hand of cards but you know what? You don't do anything about it. Do you even want me in your life? Because you being in this pain affects me too. It kills me, in the slowest way someone can die. So grow up and talk to me, or I can't do this. I can't do this forever." Alex stopped to get his breath and watched a tear travel down Jo's cheek. "Jo..."

"No. It's fine. Leave! Just leave! See if I care. See if I need you. I don't. If you can't handle me, then I'll get out of your life. I don't care." She finishes, getting up quickly to approach the stairs. "I'll get my stuff and get out."

"Jo... come on. Don't do that to me."

"No, this is what you want, isn't it? Isn't it?" She challenges him.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex sat in his kitchen in the dark, thinking. He couldn't go upstairs. Since Jo left, his bed seems too empty to even look at.

"You have to get over it at some point or go get her back." Cristina said, approaching the kitchen from the nothingness of the dark.

Alex looked at her with his red eyes. "I don't know if I can do either."

"Then you have to try."

"Wilson, you're on Karev's service today." Owen said, as he distractedly walked past her.

Great, Jo thought to herself. At her face, Stephanie challenged her.

"Maybe it's time for you guys to talk." She suggested. Jo had been staying at her place since she left Alex's two weeks ago.

"I was such an asshole to him when he was trying to help me. He probably thinks I'm some bat crazy psycho bitch. He wouldn't ever want me back." Jo said, trying to use a tone to hide the ache in her heart at saying those words out loud.

"He loves you. Have you seen him? He wants you."

"I don't think so Steph."

"Hi."

"Hey."

"I, um, I'm on your service today."

"Okay."

"Listen, Alex, can we talk? Please?"

"There's nothing to talk about." He said, looking down at his clipboard of charts.

"Please, just listen then."

"We have to go find out if a newborn baby is going to need surgery on his heart or not. There are bigger things." Alex starts walking.

"I love you, Alex." Jo lets these words slide out, like escaped prisoners and stops him in his tracks. Suddenly it feels like she is weighed down a million times with all the things she needs to say. "And I know I was wrong. I should have let you help me. I will always love you, Alex. So much, it feels like I can't breathe without you. And I don't know if you can love me again, but I will wait. I will wait for you, in case. Because I could never be with someone after I've tasted you, felt you, known you. So I will wait."

Alex, without words, takes Jo's arm and finds the on-call room on the floor.

"Anyone who makes you wait a minute for their love doesn't deserve you." He mumbles in her ear as his mouth finds its way to her neck. "I want all of you." Alex tells her, in between breaths.

"I won't break." Jo tells him, because even full of passion, Alex is gentle with her.

And when Jo and Alex exit the on call room together, Jo has never felt so filled with someone else's love. She wipes her mouth curtly, on instinct.

"Whatever you kids are doing, cut it out." Bailey says, walking by and shaking her head. Jo and Alex look at each other knowingly and giggle, like two kids on a playground with the latest secret.

"I just got a page from Meredith. Can you check the post ops on the Kiley and VanLuken cases?"

"Mhm." Jo nodded, heading off a little too happily. Alex watched her go, feeling light.

"Mer. You paged?" Alex said approaching the back of her head. When she turned around, he saw an old too familiar face behind her.

"Hi Alex." The face said, with a small wave.

"Izzie. What are you... what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for a job at Grey Sloan. And I came to see you. I haven't moved on, Alex. I haven't been able to. I know this sounds crazy coming from nowhere and all but-"

"Izzie, stop." Alex says, his anger rising.

"I just have to-"

"No, stop. Just don't ever bring this up again. Okay? Okay?"

"Okay." Izzie says, the surprise in her voice.

"Both kids look great- oh, hi!" Jo says approaching Alex and seeing Izzie. "I'm Jo. Surgical intern."

"Hi Jo. I'm Izzie. I was a resident here before." Izzie says, reaching out her hand.

"Oh, did you work with Alex?" Jo says innocently.

"Um, yeah. We did. We were the same year. Started together."

"Aw nice. Alex, should we check on that baby that we going to before-um, you know." Jo says with pink cheeks, giving way to Izzie's understanding.

"Ah, yeah. Um good to see you Iz."

Walking with Jo, he squeezed her hand. Partly to remind her how much he loved her, and partly to remind himself. See in his brain, seeing Izzie meant nothing. He knew how much she hurt him and how much he loved Jo. But there was a part inside that made his heart flutter a little at Izzie's smile, her blonde wavy hair now grown out to her chest, her shining eyes. He yelled at himself quickly and looked at Jo's long wavy brunette hair and dark eyes.

"You're beautiful." He told her.

She looked at him weirdly and scrunched her nose. "You're weird."

"I think you meant, why thank you my Prince charming, I appreciate your obvious statements of truth."

At this Jo tilted her head back and laughed out loud. "You're so dumb. But thank you my Prince charming." She said tilting her head, with a coy smile. He smiled so big at her his jaw ached.

"You have to tell her, Evil Spawn."

"Go away, Cristina."

"I'm serious, Alex. If she finds out through hospital gossip, do you know how much worse that will be? She'll feel so betrayed and dumb for being around Izzie and being the only person who didn't know. You have to tell her."

"How will she find out? It's been weeks and nobody has mentioned Izzie at all. Why would anyone talk about it? There's no need to create unnecessary problems." Alex said, distracted from the conversation.

"Because, dumbass, Izzie is coming back tomorrow for an interview. And if she gets the job, she's gonna be there every. single. day. Tell her now. Before then."

"Why do you care?"

"Because," Cristina's voice softens, "as much as I hate it, I care about you being happy. And Jo makes you happy. I was right about telling her you love her, wasn't I?"

"Fine. I'll tell her when she gets home. She's on call so first thing tomorrow morning."

Cristina smiled at him with triumph.

"Jo!" Alex says, poring over a bowl of cereal.

"Alex. I'm exhausted... are you okay?" She says, looking at him.

"Yeah, um, I'm fine. I just need to talk to you about something."

"Me too."

"Really? Okay. I'll go first."

"No I think I should," Jo looks at him with concern in her eyes, "I think I'm pregnant."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so so much for reading! You don't know how much I appreciate it. I hope you guys love Jolex as much as I do. I have quite a few ideas of where this story can go and I would love to write them but if no one's reading I should probably do something more productive with my time.**

**So if you're reading pleasepleaseplease leave a quick review of your reactions/thoughts OR if you have any suggestions/comments feel free to message me on tumblr. my URL is **perfectimperfections . tumblr . com

**I don't claim to own anything besides the actual story plot.**

"You're... what?"

"I haven't gotten a blood test yet. I was so swamped at work today. But I took a pregnancy test and it was... positive," Jo began her planned speech, "listen, Alex. I'm giving you an out here. I can move, I can find another job..." but just the thought had Jo in tears.

"What's the matter with you? Of course I'm in. We can get married. We can raise a baby. I don't want to ever spend even a day without you, nevermind a lifetime. We will have a baby, and he/she will be beautiful. And everything will be beautiful." Alex said, trying to calm her down.

"Are you sure?" Jo responded, "I just don't want to take away from your career. I don't want you to look back in fifty years and have regrets."

"The only thing I have ever been positive of in my life is that I want to be with you. I would never regret that." Alex said, brushing a strand of Jo's bangs back.

Alex couldn't sleep. Suddenly his mind was full of the responsibilities that were coming. The things he would need to buy: a crib, a diaper bag, a changing table, toys, clothes, shoes, formula. His life had just started to make sense with Jo. How could this be happening? Why isn't anything ever easy? Then he started thinking of Jo. Did she want this baby? Was she excited or nervous? The thought of two foster kids starting a family seemed almost too ridiculous to him. Almost like he didn't deserve one. Jo seemed to be sleeping more peacefully than ever, and unable to help himself, he thought of Izzie. Izzie wanted him back, and how much simpler would it be, a life with Izzie? As his eyes started to drift shut, he wondered... isn't that what he always wanted? Simple?

"Morning sleeping beauty." Jo teased Alex as he walked into the kitchen.

"Why aren't you at work?" Alex asked her, taking a seat and smelling the syrup.

"I have a 24 hour shift. I go in at 12pm." Jo answered. "I made you breakfast." She said, unable to hide her smile at how proud she was.

"It smells...actually... pretty good." Alex said, disappointed he had nothing to tease her with. Her triumphant smile was contagious, though.

"Listen, Alex..."

"If this is about yesterday,"

"It is."

"Then don't. Nothing is different."

"I love you."

"I love you, Jo." Somehow his words felt weighted with his thoughts about Izzie last night.

"I'm gonna go take a shower. Enjoy your breakfast." She winked at him as she started walking to the stairs. Simple will never be Jo, he thought. It will never be as good.

"What's wrong with you today?" Jackson asked, sitting down at Alex's table in the

cafeteria. April, Cristina, and Meredith all found their seat at the table too.

"Yeah, Alex. You've been acting weirder than normal today." Meredith said waving her fork at him.

"Oh leave him alone." Cristina said, surprisingly. She gave him a knowing look and for a second he wondered if she knew about the pregnancy. Knowing there was no way, he just pretended he knew what she was talking about and tried to give her a convincing smile.

"Izzie! Pull up a chair!" Meredith said to the wondering blonde in the cafeteria. "I hope that's not too weird with you." She finished, looking at Alex.

"Huh? No. That's fine." Alex responded, distracted.

"Hi guys." Izzie said, holding nothing but an apple and a granola bar. "Can I, um, speak with you, Alex? Please?"

"I don't know if I-"

"Please." She repeated.

"Yeah, okay. Fine." Alex relinquished.

"Thanks." She said getting up, leading Alex to the tunnels.

"Thanks for talking with me. Alone and all. I'm not going to try and get with you or anything. I shouldn't have came on that strong. Plus once I met Jo, I knew you loved her just by the way you looked at her. What I want to say is pretty much the opposite. I just want to be friends. You're a good guy Alex. And I just want you to know I'm in your corner. Okay...? Alex? Are you okay?"

"Jo might be pregnant." Alex says, laying his face in his hands than using his palms to rub his eyes in circles.

"What." Izzie says with a dry mouth.

"The thing is, I think I'm ready for it. I can be a dad, right? I wanted a kid at some point, and I can't think of anyone I'd want it with more than Jo. I have an income and I own a house. I think I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be for this. Right?"

"Oh Alex. You're going to be great." Izzie says, rubbing his shoulder. He nods back to her.

"Thanks. Hey what time is it?"

"Almost 1:30. Why?"

"Jo's in already. I gotta go find her. Thanks again, Iz. And about the whole friends thing, I think we could at least try."

"Jo?"

"Alex." She turned to him.

"Hi." He said, unable to contain his smile.

"What's got you all excited?"

"Can't I be happy to see you?"

"Oh, I think we've all noticed how often you're happy to see me." At Jo's teasing remark, his cheeks turn crimson.

"You're a brat," he said in defense.

"I know. Are you ready?" Her face turned serious.

"For?"

"To take my blood, for, you know."

With his newfound excitement for this baby, he had forgotten she may not even be pregnant. "Yeah. Let's go."

After Alex took it, Jo promised to page him when she got the results. But as soon as she found her way back, multiple traumas were already tumbling into the ER. The rest of her shift was so busy she almost forgot to stop by and pick up her results. She hoped Alex didn't think she forgot to page him. She brought the folded piece of paper home, unlooked at.

"Alex?" She said, walking in the door. "Alex? Where are you? I have the results. I haven't looked at them yet." Walking around downstairs, Alex was nowhere to be found. "Alex?" She called as she stepped up the stairs, looking around. She went to his bedroom, where she'd been living too, and found it covered in rose petals. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at his corniness. "Alex, this is beyond cheesy." She said laughing, expecting to find him in the bathoom waiting. As she approached the door, it swung open quickly.

"I'm so sorry."

"What the fuck? Izzie? Why are you...? Is Alex in there? Did you guys?" Jo's voice rushed, a mix of anger and disappointment.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I woke up this morning with some more reviews to read and I was soso happy! Thanks so much! I'm sorry I can't be reliable to when I'll be updating, but I can definitely say it will probably be at least once every couple days, maybe more frequently. Also if I get any new ideas, I can start a new fic. I just love Jolex. 8 DAYS!**

**Please keep reviewing and giving me feedback! Also don't be afraid to PM me or message me on tumblr about suggestions or what you want to see. I write it chapter by chapter, so I'm always open to suggestions. **

"What? No. No, he's not. He's not here. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done this. I didn't think you were living with him. I shouldn't have..."

"What..." was all Jo could muster out in her dumbfounded state.

"I should go." Izzie says, grabbing a black duffel bag and heading to the door. Jo, unable to say anything to try to stop her, sat on the covered bed with her jaw open. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there when Alex came home.

"Jo...?" Alex's voice echoed through the walls. "Did you do this?" He laughed innocently.

"Uh, uh no.. I didn't." Jo says, snapping back to reality. At his confused face, she continues. "I got home, and Izzie was.." Alex nods to tell Jo he understands, she doesn't need to continue.

"She did this? Jo, I swear I had nothing to do with it. I told her we could be friends. She told me she understood that I was in love with you. What the fuck? I can't believe she would do this." His sincere confusion showed in his eyebrows, and Jo's face softened at his always obvious giveaway.

"I believe you, Alex. Calm down." She said, lightly.

"I would never ever cheat on you, Jo."

"I know." Jo assured him. "But you need to tell me what happened."

"What... happened...?"

"Before."

"With Izzie," Alex stated. "It's a long, dumb story, Jo."

"I want to know." She said firmly.

"When I started my intern year, I was kinda the stupid jerk. Meredith and Cristina and Izzie were all friends, and I kinda was a douche. They didn't like me at all. I wouldn't have, either. I was a dumb kid. Izzie and I became friends first, she was the first one to see past, as dumb as it sounds, my exterior. She opened me up a lot. We started dating, but I fucked it up but cheating on her with a nurse, which she walked in on. Eventually I got her to forgive me, but she then she got cancer. Really bad, too. She was planning Derek and Meredith's wedding, and it made her so happy. We thought she was gonna die, Jo," Alex says, his hand scratching the back of her head. "I thought if we got her married it would give her one last big thing to be happy about. I loved her. I would have done anything to make her happy. But one day she just got up and left. She came back and asked for another chance. I told her I moved on, that I deserved to be treated better. That was the last I heard from her before she came back this time." Alex turns to look Jo in the eyes for the first time, "I loved her so much, Jo. I didn't think I would love anyone else after her. I thought I had one chance at love and it turned out all shitty. And I'm telling you this, because I want you to know anything I would have done for Izzie, I'd do five times over for you. And I love you too much to mess this up. I'll do anything for you. I'll tell you anything. I want you to feel loved and wanted, every second of every day. Because you are." By the end, Alex's hands are holding both of Jo's.

"Thank you for being honest with me." Jo says him, proving her gratefulness with a kiss. "I got the results from the pregnancy test." She says, inches from his mouth, going back for more.

"What do they say?" Alex says quickly, pulling away quickly, remembering.

"I haven't opened them yet." Nodding, he moves next to her sitting on the bed where she found herself after Izzie left.

"I'm here. Let's do it together."

Taking a breath, Jo's fingers fumble at the crease of the paper she placed next to her hip, at what seemed so long ago. Alex, trying to give her space, waits for her to tell him. She reads the results, and suddenly feeling a rock in her stomach from the mix of emotions, turns to him.

"I'm going to be sick."

"What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just my stomach. It's like a wrecking ball just dropped in it while I was reading." She continues, "I'm not pregnant."

"Wow. Okay. Well, that's good I guess." Alex says, trying to convince himself he's excited to cover the surprise disappointment.

"Are... are you upset?"

"What? No. Are you kidding? I'm glad we're not going to have a kid to worry about. This is a good thing."

"Right."

"I mean I'd like to have kids someday. I think. You do too, right?"

"I mean, yeah. I guess. I haven't really thought about it." Jo says, a little surprised. "You're not... disappointed, are you?"

"What? No."

"Alex Karev, that is the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"Shut up."

"We should do something, after this whole thing. Like go away for a weekend or something. We can eat all the powdered sugar donuts we want." Jo's smile spreads.

"That sounds really, really good." Alex smiles at the girl he was ready to start a life with.

"You paged me?" Callie says approaching Alex.

"Yeah. 13 year old jumped out of a moving car after a fight with her parents. Broken femur and an open fracture on her left arm."

"Oh jeez, where are the parents? What fight could be that bad?" Callie says, walking with Alex.

"Mom's here in the waiting room. The dad never showed. Apparently he was embarrassed at his daughter's behavior."

"So embarrassed he didn't come to her surgery? Sheesh." Callie said, tying back her hair.

"How can I help?" Stephanie asked Alex.

"Get Wilson. Switch with her."

"With all due respect sir, I'm on your service today."

"Yeah. Well, switch." Alex says, dumbly.

"I don't think it's fair for you to give an intern every surgery just because you're screwing her at home on the couch." Stephanie stomped.

"Yeah, well I don't think it's fair you're still talking to me and not getting Wilson." Alex said, annoyed.

"That was harsh." Callie laughed as Stephanie stomped out.

"Yeah, well. I need Wilson."

"You know you can't play favorites." Callie warned.

"It's not about that, Torres." Alex said, still annoyed.

"Hey Alex. You wanted me on your service?"

"Yeah. I have a 13 year old girl that supposedly jumped out of a car after fighting with her parents. But look at these scans. She's got all these unhealed fractures and her dad didn't come to the hospital but he was supposedly in the car when it happened. If they came straight to the hospital, why would he go home? I don't think she jumped."

"You think she's being abused?" Jo said, understanding.

"Yeah."

"That's why you wanted me. You want me to talk to her."

"I just thought you'd be the best person for this case. In case she wanted to confide in someone." Jo nodded, so he continued. "Maybe you can try talking to her."

"Hi Mariah." Jo said, entering the young girls room. "I'm Dr. Wilson. Do you mind if we talk a little?" The little girl nodded hesitantly, as Jo began to check her vitals. "I just want to talk about what happened, no big deal, okay? You said you jumped out of the moving car?" Again, she nodded shyly. "Why? What made you want to do that?" She shrugged her shoulders up and let them fall down. "I'm just here to help. No one's going to get in trouble okay? Well, everything looks good. I'll come back in a few hours. But you can page me if you need anything before then, alright?" Jo said, starting to leave.

"Don't go." A quiet voice spoke.

"What?"

"Please don't leave." The little girl let the words run out right before the tears could catch up.

"What's going on, Mariah? You can talk to me." Jo said, pulling up the stool next to where Mariah's head stayed.

"I was fighting with my parents. I did something really bad again. I yelled at my dad. He reached around and opened the door and told me to get out. My mom was driving. My mom started on the brakes and started to cry. She said 'please don't do this John' but he told her she better fucking step on it. I started crying, begging my dad not to make me. He told me if I didn't he was gonna kill me when we got home. So I jumped. My mom tried to slow down as much as she could without him yelling at her. My mom drove my dad home and left me on the side of the road. Then she came and got me." The little girl broke out in sobs. "Please don't tell my mom or anyone I told you. Please." Mariah said, taking Jo's hand in desperation.

"Mariah. Has he hurt you before?"

"Only when I'm really bad."

"I have to tell my boss. It's the law, Mariah. We're going to take care of you, I promise."

"No you can't!" She exclaims. "I'll go to foster care. That's worse than at home. Please. Please, Dr. Wilson. I've heard stories about foster care. You don't know how bad it is."

"Alright. We can work it out, I promise."

"Thank you. Thank you." She breathed.

"Alex."

"Jo! Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Well... did she tell you anything?"

Jo lifted her palm to place her forehead in it, trying to give her time to think.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hope you like the update! The next few chapters will probably be calming down on all the drama. **

**I literally have been at my computer writing since I woke up today and it's now 5:30pm. I LOVE it and I love writing Jolex but please keep in mind it takes much longer to write these than it does to read them. So please leave a review/feedback because that's what makes it so fun. Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy! **

**Also: my tumblr URL is now your-perfectimperfection. You can always message me there and my whole blog is basically Jolex/Grey's Anatomy if you wanna check it out.**

"Jo. What is going on? What did she say?"

Jo closed her eyes and tilted her hand down. "She doesn't want to end up in foster care."

"Jo, you know as well as I do that it could be her best chance."

"I know. I know but I don't. I don't want to make anything harder for her."

"It's not your job to figure it out. It's your job to report it to Social Services and let them figure it out."

"But we both know they won't. They fail kids every day."

"Jo... don't."

"No child should have to go through what she already has. Please don't say anything. At least... let me. Let me handle it." Alex looked at Jo, and sighed hopelessly.

"If you don't say anything, both of our asses are going to be toast."

"I know."

* * *

"Did you tell?" Mariah says quietly, as soon as Jo walks into the room. Jo starts to check her vitals.

"How are you feeling?" Jo asks.

"Did you tell?" Mariah says desperately, quietly but firmly.

"No." Jo says with a sad smile. "But I still can't let you go home with your parents. I'm going to have to tell, Mariah."

"You can't. Please." She says, with tears.

"Foster care isn't always that bad. I promise. I know it can seem scary. But they'll find good people. People who care about you."

"You promise?"

"I promise," Jo tells her. "And I can give you my number. That way you'll always have someone in your corner. Okay?"

At Mariah's nod, Jo reaches into her lab coat and pulls out her notepad and pen. "It's all going to be okay. You should try and sleep."

"I try, but nurses keep waking me up every half hour."

"Well I'll take care of that. Okay?"

"Okay." Her voice so small, it was barely audible. As Jo left to find Arizona, she stopped outside the room's door and leaned against it. She felt so broken for what this little girl was about to experience and she couldn't do anything about it. Then she was full of anger. Why couldn't her parents just be good to her? Why couldn't parents just live up to their damn expectations?

* * *

"Hey. Are you okay?" Alex says, finding her outside the cafeteria. "Why do you always come here? It smells like mystery meat." Alex said, turning up his nose.

Jo smiled. "It's peaceful." She said giving him a fake shove as he came to sit next to her.

"There are other peaceful places in the hospital." Jo glared at him. "Okay, point taken." He admitted.

"Alex. I can't think about Mariah."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assigned you to this case. I don't know what I was thinking. Of course it would hit home. I just thought-"

"No, I'm glad you did. It reminded me where I came from."

"How about that vacation? Let's leave tonight. We can take our vacation days to leave a couple days early. You've never missed a day of work. You deserve it."

After deliberating it in her head for a few seconds, Jo agreed. "Let me say bye to Mariah. Arizona probably already called Social Services. Things are about to get crazy for her."

"Okay. I'll wait for you." At Alex's simple statement, her heart fluttered remembering the exact words she said to him and how far they've come since that day.

"Okay." She smiles at him.

"Mariah?" Jo says, knocking on the door. "Mariah?!" Her voice quickens. "Have you seen Dr. Robbins?" Jo says racing out of the room, bumping into Callie.

"Not since this morning. Slow down, Wilson!" Callie calls after her.

"Dr. Robbins? Where is Mariah?"

"She left about 15 minutes ago," Arizona said, looking up. "Wilson? You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I just didn't get to say bye." Arizona looked at her with a confused face. "It's nothing. Nevermind."

"Okay..."

* * *

"Jo. We're going for a long weekend, not a month." Alex said laughing.

"I know! But I need options." Jo emphasized, half joking.

"I don't think you're going to be needing clothes half as much as you're expecting." Alex breathed, wrapping his arm around her waist to bring her close.

"Oh, really?" She smelt like apples and cinnamon, and it enveloped the air in front of him. "Alex, I still have to pack." She countered his lips rediscovering her body.

"It can wait a few more minutes..."

"Alex...!" Jo started, but it ended in a squeal.

"Yes?" Alex responded moments later, coming up for air innocently.

"You're awful." She teased him and gave him a tiny shove.

"I'll start bringing the bags to the car. You hurry up."

"Alright, alright. Sheesh." Jo responded, more disappointed than she expected at Alex not finishing what he started. Oh well, she thought. We have five entire days of that ahead.

After arriving at the hotel, Jo began unpacking mindlessly as Alex informed her he was going to get a shower. While unfolding clothes, she decided to surprise him with a guest appearance in the shower. She took her clothes off before entering the bathroom. Since she wanted to surprise him, she opened the door and slowly and quietly as she could. She could hear Alex talking, and couldn't help her immediate thought at how cute he was.

"I'm sorry... you're great... and I care about your future, I do. But it's just not working out between us specifically. I'm sure you can someone just as great."

The words snapped Jo back in reality. Was he...? Was he practicing ways to break up with her? Why would he go on vacation with her if he wanted to break up? Was he using her for sex? Oh my god. The realization felt like a cold hand slapping her in the face. She exited the bathroom, unnoticed by Alex.

After dressing herself, she sat on the queen size bed for Alex to exit the shower. When he came out in only a towel around his waist, Jo took a deep breath and reminded herself to be strong. You don't need anyone, she reminded herself.

"Alex we need to talk. I don't wanna be used like some type of object you see all the other interns as," as she said that out loud, it felt like books came tumbling down on her like an earthquake. "I don't deserve that. So be honest with me... do you want out of this relationship?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I would have posted before I went out earlier but fanfiction was down for me! Sorry. Hope you guys like... tried to avoid drama this chapter a little bit but we'll get right back into it once Jo and Alex return to the hospital. **

**Also I'm going to a Demi Lovato concert tomorrow so probably won't be updating til Sunday. Thanks again for reading and a big thank you to anyone who leaves a review/messages me on tumblr! Also I think it would be really really fun & cool if you guys told me your predictions for what's gonna happen.**

**Less than 6 days guys! We can make it.**

"What?"

"Do you want to break up? Just tell it to me straight. I don't care. But I'd rather know."

"Jo, why would you even...?" Alex's voice trailed off.

"I heard you talking. In the shower." Jo specified, looking down. "It sounded like a break-up routine."

"What? You mean like five minutes ago?" Alex laughed. Jo nodded, confused to why he was laughing. He went to sit down next to her, visibly relieved. "Jo. That wasn't a break-up! I mean, it kinda was. But not with you! Ross has been on my service lately nonstop. I think he had some fall out with Shepard. But he just doesn't... fit peds. I was trying to practice how to encourage him to go back to neuro or whatever he's good at." Alex said, still laughing.

"Wow, I'm an idiot." Jo said, too embarrassed to laugh at how cute Alex's speech was. "I'm sorry for freaking out over nothing."

"What were you doing in the bathroom anyway? Spying on me?" Alex teased. "If you wanted to see what happens behind there, you could have just asked."

"Shut up!" Jo squealed. "I was going to surprise you," she said, her cheeks getting flustered at admitting it.

"Wow I really picked the wrong time for practicing that speech then." Alex said, pretending to be heartbroken.

"I can make it up to you." Jo said, kissing him as she pushed him on his back against the bed.

* * *

"Wake up!" Jo said, nudging Alex.

"What time is it?" He grumbled.

"Almost 7:30."

"Please tell me it's pm."

Smiling, Jo shook her head. "Come on!" she said, emphasizing the word on. "We have a long day ahead of us," she tried. "I'm going to take a shower. So you better get up now if you're going to join me." She said, her smirk so evident you could hear it.

"You're evil." Alex said, lifting his upper half to sitting position. Jo couldn't help her smile.

"So what's this long day ahead of us?"

"It's a surprise, duh." Jo said, taking his hand as they left the room.

"Jo we're at hotel ten feet from the beach. What else could we be doing?"

"Don't worry. It's a surprise." Then she added, "it's a girlfriend thing." Jo teased, using Alex's own words from when she bought the couch for his house.

"Oh, now you're my girlfriend? Thanks for keeping me updated."

"Shut up."

"Where are we?" Alex asked.

"I told you earlier to stop asking questions. Besides, we're almost there."

"Jo, we're in a forest." Alex said, looking around.

"It's a trail. And it's supposed to be romantic." Jo said, dejectedly.

"It's very... different."

"You hate it."

"No! It, uh, gives us time to talk. It was a very good idea."

"Let's go back."

"No, we came all the way here. It was a good idea, Jo!"

"I'm sorry. I'm a terrible girlfriend. I'm just so new to all this. I've never really been in a relationship where I cared about the other person this much. In fact, I don't think I've ever loved someone this much in my life. I don't know how to handle it."

"Okay first of all, you are not a terrible girlfriend. Not even close. And we're in this together. Okay? You can tell me anything in the world, and we can figure it out together. That's what I'm here for. For you." Alex said, walking. The sun shone down, and it felt so warm on her when she smiled at him, she couldn't tell if it was coming from the sky or from inside of her.

"No one has ever wanted to help me like that."

"Then they're stupid." Alex said, simply.

Jo laughed. "Or really, really smart for not getting involved."

"No." Alex said firmly. "No. Anyone who didn't try to give you everything in the world was just stupid."

"You know, you don't have to give me everything. You don't need to carry that weight on your shoulders."

When Jo said this, Alex realized something. When he was with Izzie, when he married Izzie, he was doing it because he thought he was doing what was right by her. That because he thought he loved her, he owed her something. Her owed it to her to make her happy, instead of just wanting it for her. When he did something for Izzie, or any other girl he was with in the past, he was good to them because he knew he was supposed to be. But with Jo, he didn't even think of that. There was no weight. He just wanted to make her happy, he didn't want anything in return, he just wanted her to feel important and loved and happy. But he didn't know how to say all of this to her, so instead he replied with, "I want to."

"Well, you better not wake up in fifty years and hate me!" Alex laughed at Jo's remark, not telling her that the idea of waking up to her in fifty years alone made him feel like he had all he ever wanted. "Aw shit, it's starting to rain. Damn. I should have picked a better day. I should have seen this coming." Jo started.

"Jo, relax. It's not your fault weathermen don't know how to do their jobs. It's just a little rain. We won't die. Why are you so antsy?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just nervous." Jo admitted.

"Nervous for what?"

Jo smiled at how innocent his question was. "For this weekend with you, I guess."

"Why would you be nervous to be with me?"

"I don't know." Jo listened to the raindrops, they were getting louder but she could hear a steady beat. She could tell him how he's funny, and smart, and caring, and sexy and the fact that he wants to be with her freaks her out. But she'd save that for another time. "Guess what."

"What?"

"Jackson broke up with Stephanie. Did he tell you?"

"Guys don't talk about that type of thing, really."

"Well he did. And apparently it's because April broke off her engagement for him. I think they're getting back together."

"Yeah? Well those two were kinda meant for each other. They just couldn't stay away I guess."

"I guess so." Jo agreed. "Maybe we should head back. The rain is getting heavier."

"Okay." Alex agreed as thunder clapped. Jo jumped out of her skin. "What was that?" Alex laughed.

"It caught me off guard." Jo said, shaking it off. Jo jumped again at the flash of lightning.

"Jo, relax. We'll make it home."

"Well we are surrounded by trees and I just heard lightning. Basically, we are going to die."

"How about we don't say that?"

"Sorry." Jo laughed. Suddenly, Jo's scream pierced Alex's ears as a fallen tree stopped him his tracks.

"Jo? Are you okay?" He said, finding her on the ground.

"I'm good," she responded. "But I scraped my legs a little." The tree pushed Jo to the ground. "Let's just get out of here." It was two in the afternoon but it was so dark and gloomy it could have passed for two in the morning. Alex picked Jo up and started running. "Alex what are you doing?" Jo squealed.

"Getting out of here so we can look at those legs."

"Well damn, I guess guys really do get horny anywhere."

"You're dumb." Alex laughed, trying to avoid the rain hitting his face.

* * *

"Is it bad I don't want to go home tomorrow?" Jo asked Alex, laying in bed.

"No." Alex responded, rolling over to face her. "Although, I'm sure the hospital misses you."

"I'm sure they miss you," Jo countered, emphasizing the word you. "All the kids love you. You're like God to them."

"No I'm not." Alex said, modestly.

"Yes you are. They believe in you so much and you never let them down. That's how I realized I was in love with you, you know." Jo says, matter-of-factly.

"Really." Alex says, half-question half-statement.

"Mhm. You don't know how great you are." At this, Alex smiled. He wasn't used to someone thinking him like that.

"Hello?" Jo's voice interrupted his thought as she answered her cell phone. "Yes, this is her." "Okay." "What?" "What." "Oh my god." "Are you sure it was her?" "Yes, okay. Thank you for calling." Alex listened to Jo's end of the conversation, trying to piece together what was happening.

"Who was that?"

"It was a police officer. Um, they just found my mother. She committed suicide the night after I walked away in the hospital. They just found her now, Alex. She had no one. And I-I"

"Jo, relax." Alex said, seeing she was about to cry. "This had nothing to do with you. You didn't do anything wrong. You couldn't have stopped it." Jo nodded, and Alex couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked, even with tears creating oceans in her eyes.

"I know. I was just so shocked when I first saw her. I thought I would have more time. I thought I'd have time to come around. That after that, maybe we could have a relationship. But she didn't care. She didn't care enough to stick around to try. I wasn't enough for her to try." By the end, Jo was crying so hard, she had to stop to catch her breath. "There's so much more out there she never got to see." Jo started calming down a little. "It's just not fair that someone could be pushed down often they stop trying to get up. No one deserves to feel like that. Everyone should always have a reason to try."

"You're more than a reason. It's not fair. But at least she got to see you. She got to see how far you've come and how you've made it. Maybe that was all she felt like she needed." At this, Jo started crying hard again. "I'm sorry, Jo. I didn't mean to make it worse."

"You didn't. I love you."

"I love you too." Alex says, confused at Jo's response.

"Thank you for this weekend," Jo says, wiping her eyes. Alex's phone rang before he responded.

"Hello?" Alex answered.

"Alex, it's me," Meredith says. "You have to come home now. It's Cristina."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here is your update! Thanks everyone! And the Demi Lovato concert was amazing. She was so energetic and smiley and so unbelievably talented. What a genuine person, she is. I'm suffering hardcore from PCD so there is a good chance I'll be updating again today because Jolex is the only thing that distracts me.**

**I decided to take the Jason/Jo thing in a little bit different kind of direction for this story. So I hope you guys stick it out a little. Thanks again for all the views and reviews I came back to today. Made me smile so much :)**

"What is it?" Alex said urgently. Jo watched, curious to the reason of the tone of his voice. She watched his face, listening to the response he got. He hung up and turned to Jo. "We have to go. Like right now."

"Okay," Jo says soothingly. "What's going on?"

"We have to get back to the hospital. Cristina's hurt."

"Okay," Jo says processing. "Okay."

* * *

"Meredith!" Alex yelled through the hospital. "Where's Meredith?" Alex moved, leaving Jo trailing behind.

"What's going on with him?" Stephanie said approaching Jo.

"I don't know," said Jo. "Something's wrong with Cristina."

"What?" Stephanie asked. "No. Meredith told me this morning she left to go visit her sick mom." Jo was confused for only a minute before realizing whatever was going on with Cristina, no one else was supposed to know.

"Oh, weird. I must have misunderstood. I only got to hear his half of the conversation. He just got an urgent phone call at the hotel. It must have been about a patient or something." Jo tried to say casually.

"Speaking of hotel," Stephanie nudged her shoulder, "how was your little romantic getaway?"

"It was fine." Jo said, trying to avoid the subject and hide her bright red cheeks.

"Oh. My. God!"

"What?"

"You guys are getting serious together!"

"Why do you say that?" Jo asked curiously, trying to hide how pleased this idea made her.

"Because it's written all over your face!"

"What's written all over her face?" Ross said, approaching them with Leah next to him.

"Jo's in love with Karev."

"Haven't we known that since we started working here?"

"Yeah, but now it's official. And Alex knows. So pay up."

Jo looked at them with her mouth wide open. "You were betting?!"

"We didn't know if you'd ever tell him." Ross tries to explain tenderly.

"You guys are awful!" Jo exclaims.

"Yeah, well we all know it's not going to last. Karev doesn't feel anything. He'll just use you for sex. It won't mean anything to him." Leah says, her bitterness filling the air.

"Oh shut up Leah. Alex is in love with Jo. Just because it wasn't you he fell in love with doesn't mean he's not capable of it." Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. Leah, with her jaw open, turned and stomped away. Ross and Stephanie looked at each other and laughed, and Jo tried to hold in her laughter while giving the best disapproving look she could muster.

* * *

"Mer. I'm here. Where is she?" Alex said, rushed.

"Upstairs. I'll take you. She seems to be doing fine, but they think that it's not going to last long. That's she going to break down."

"What do you think?"

"I think Cristina is really strong."

Alex walked in to Cristina sitting up in her bed, reading a magazine.

"Cristina. What happened?"

"Nothing. It was miniscule. I don't know why I'm wasting my time here when I could be saving lives."

"Cristina it wasn't nothing. You were mugged and held at gunpoint."

"And now I'm in the psych ward of a hospital because of my history of PTSD. I know all about it, I was there. Everything thinks I'm hurt or whatever. I'm fine. He took look a hundred bucks. It was more of an inconvenience than scary."

"Then why are you here?"

"Owen admitted me. They have to observe for 72 hours to make sure I don't kill myself or someone else or run or whatever. That I don't have any PTSD symptoms."

"And you're perfectly okay?"

"Fine. There was no need for you to rush back from your honeymoon with Hairball." Cristina teased. "But don't tell anyone I'm here. I don't want people knowing I was in psych. As far as all the hospital knows I'm visiting my sick mom. Except for you, Owen, and Mer."

"Okay." Alex can't help his smile, feeling so relieved. "Mer called me and told me you were mugged by a guy with a gun and now you were in the hospital. For all I knew you and your big mouth pissed him off and he shot you."

"I'm insulted you don't think more of my common sense than that."

"I'll be back later. Try not to go bat crazy on me while you're here."

"I'll do my best." Cristina assured him, nodding.

Alex went back down the surgical wing, feeling relieved that the weight that had been on him since Meredith's call was off.

"Got any good surgeries?" Alex asked Arizona as he approached her.

"I got a kid in bed 17B that's getting a kidney transplant at 3:15. Do you want to scrub in?"

"Yes!" Alex said, looking at his watch. It was only 8:30. Since he wasn't expecting to be home so early, his shifted started at three. He could go home, spend some more time with Jo, and then come right into a surgery. He was feeling elated.

* * *

"Oh, I got a page. I better go." Jo said in the midst of her laughing at Jason's joke making fun of her for telling him she was thinking about specializing in pediatric surgery.

"Oh well alright," Jason said, trying to emphasize his disappointment. "Well we'll have to have lunch sometime when we're both working to finish this conversation.

"Yeah, okay." Jo said hesitantly, unsure if he just asked her on a date. If he didn't mean it like that, she'd sound awfully dumb telling her she thinks she's pretty sure she has a boyfriend but isn't entirely sure.

"I got your 911 page, what's up?" Jo said, catching up to Alex who was standing at the front of the hospital doors waiting.

"I have an emergency I need your help with."

"Oh, okay! What is it? Trauma? Peds? What's going on?"

"Just follow me." Alex said, walking out of the hospital doors. Jo with a confused face, followed him.

"Um, where are we going?"

"To the scene of the emergency."

"In your car? This is so badass!" Jo said, excitedly.

Jo was antsy with excitement until she started recognizing the streets they were on. "Alex...?"

"Yes?" He tried to respond without smiling.

"Why are we going to your house?"

"It's the scene of the emergency." Alex said, grinning at how clever he thought he was.

"What emergency is that?" Jo challenged him.

"The emergency that I can't go minutes without thinking about how much I want you but it's inappropriate to jump your bones in the middle of the hospital lobby."

"Your emergency was that you wanted to have sex?" Jo laughed.

"No! I am also going to make you breakfast."

"You're ridiculous, Alex."

"Don't act like you don't love it."

At this Jo smiled, because she couldn't argue.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **

**Eating disorders are a very serious illness and should never be taken lightly. If you or you suspect someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns please call NEDA's confidential helpline 1-800-931-2237 and tell an adult you trust. You could save a life.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing... I always look forward to see your responses and it motivates me to update faster to give you guys more! 4 days!**

Jo walked through the hospital next to Alex. She knew she would get banter from Dr. Bailey or Meredith, or Cristina, or even Stephanie. It was expected at this point, especially since Jo picked pediatrics as a speciality, much to Jason's dismay. So she was always with Alex basically. Except when she met Jason on breaks. Lately they've been meeting almost every day for lunch. It was nice to have a friend outside of her normal circle.

"Hey lovebirds." Cristina called.

"What?" Alex said, only half-annoyed.

"I need your help on a case."

"What is it?"

"Heart attack. She needs surgery now."

"Why do you need me?" Alex asked.

"She's barely 14."

"What the hell? What's the cause?" Alex said, walking frantically with Cristina. Jo only steps behind.

"Eating disorder. According to the mom."

"Well if the mom knew, why didn't she do anything to stop it?"

"You can't make someone stop throwing up if they're intent on doing it."

"Uh, yeah you can. If you're the parent, you be the bad guy and do what's best for them." Alex said.

"Dr. Karev, this is Jocelin. The patient's parent." Cristina said clearing her throat, stopping in front of a tiny brunette woman.

"Um, sorry about that. Hello." Alex said, embarrassed.

"No, it's okay. You're right. I blame myself every day."

"No, I'm sorry. Don't think like that. She'll be okay. We'll do everything we can for her." Alex promised.

"Thank you." Jocelin said nodding.

"So what are you doing for her?" Jo asked, curious as they walked to the scrub room.

"She needs bypass. Even then, we don't know if she'll survive. Her esophagus is narrowed and all of her levels are imbalanced. She won't make it if she doesn't get help after this, even if I can fix her heart."

Jo looked down. As a surgeon, the best part is feeling like you've made a difference. Knowing that without you, someone would have died. And now because of you, they get to go on and live full and happy and easier lives. She'd guess that raising a child must be something like that, preparing them for the world. This girls mother must have felt so powerless to doing her most important job.

* * *

"Hey, Jo, are you okay?"

"Ah- you scared me." Jo said to Jason, jumping a little.

"Sorry." He laughed. "You looked a little out of it.'

"Yeah I'm okay. Just thinking about this girl I scrubbed in on earlier. She was 14 and she had a heart attack because of the stress on heart from forcing herself to throw up. It's just heartbreaking, you know?" Jo asked. "That someone could hate themselves so much they'd risk having a heart attack before their 15th birthday. I don't know. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Hey, she'll get help. It's not for you to worry about."

"I know." Jo says, slightly annoyed. "But if she doesn't, she'll die."

"Why do you care?"

"Because she's my patient?"

"I was just trying to help, Jo." Jason says. "I'm just trying to make you feel better..."

"I know. Sorry. I'm going to find Alex."

"Stay. We were just starting our lunch."

"I really shouldn't. Alex is probably looking for me. I've been kinda MIA all day."

"Jo. Stay." Jason's term was so firm it frightened Jo a little, but then he smiled.

"Okay." She agreed and sat down, feeling a little awkward.

"So what's new?" He began, taking a bite of his carrot.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Jo?" Alex asked anyone who would listen. "I paged her 911 for the case we're on but she's not coming." What the fuck Jo, he whispered under his breath. Where are you?

"Last I saw her she was in the cafeteria." Stephanie said.

"I don't have time to go looking for her." Alex said, annoyed. "My 14 year old heart attack patient just got a blood clot in her brain after surgery and stroked in her room. Can you scrub in now?" Alex said, rushing.

"Yes, of course." Stephanie said, following quickly and excitedly.

"Page Shepard." Alex yelled to Stephanie. She nodded.

Derek ran into the operating room to the steady hum of the monitor, the tell tale sign of a heart that has already stopped. He looked at Alex.

"Time of death: 18:06." Alex said, lifting his hands off from CPR and taking off his surgical mask, looking down. He walked out of the room, as if he couldn't stand another minute of it.

"What happened?" Derek asked Stephanie.

"Her heart was under too much stress with another surgery. It couldn't take it."

"Go talk to Karev." He said, nodding with sad understandment at her answer.

"Alex. Alex! Wait up!"

"Why?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Have you seen Jo yet?"

"No.. I.. I was with you.." Stephanie replied slowly.

"Whatever. I need to find her. If you see her, page me." And Stephanie nodded.

* * *

"You okay?" Meredith asked as Alex stopped at the nurses station, resting his face in his hands and rubbing it up and down.

"I'm fine. My shift ended 20 minutes ago and I can't find Jo anywhere. Usually I take her home."

"Well I saw her in the cafeteria earlier. Maybe she fell asleep in an on-call room nearby." Meredith nodded towards the one nearby.

"She missed out on her patient dying if she did." Alex said annoyed at the idea and the fact that he just wanted to get home and he was keeping her waiting. He knocked on the on-call room, because it was locked.

"Jo, if you're asleep in there, I'm gonna knock the door down, I swear."

No response.

"Jo!"

"Go away Karev." Bailey's voice echoed out, followed by laughter.

Oh god. Oh fuck. What the fuck.

"Sorry Bailey.. um.. have a nice night." Alex said, punching himself in his own face. "Stop laughing!" He said to Meredith, who was cracking up.

"Well if you better check all the on-call rooms if you want to find her just in case."

Alex rolled his eyes, getting more annoyed by the second. He was thinking about just leaving and he figured when she woke up she'd understand that he couldn't have found her. But something about it didn't feel right to him. He decided to just check the common on-call rooms. The last one he decided to check was the one by the tunnels. He was pretty sure she wouldn't be down here away from everybody, but he decided to check because that's where he would have been as an intern.

"Jo. It's me. If you're sleeping, wake up!" Alex said, banging on the door. This one was locked. It was the only one locked, besides the one Bailey was in, so he thought it was weird. Then he heard whimpering, but it sounded muffled. He put his ear to the door. He couldn't hear anything. "Jo, if you're in there you have ten seconds to open this door before I knock it down."

Suddenly the door opened.

"Sorry dude." Jason said, smiling. He was putting on his shirt and walking away. Alex looked at him with disbelief and then in the room. He found Jo laying on the bed, naked.

"Jo?"

There was no response except crying. "Jo? Talk to me." She just shook her head. Alex looked at her and felt his heart swell up inside his chest.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I was thinking a chapter or two more of their story BUT I have some ideas for a What If fanfic and maybe a sequel. **

**Let me know if you guys would be interested! Thanks again I know I say it every chapter but you guys reading what I write just means a whole lot to me so thank you :) 3.5. FREAKING. DAYS.**

"How could you do this?" Alex said, unsure if he was about to throw something at the wall or start crying.

Still no response from Jo. "Jo. You have to talk to me. If we're going to work it out, you have to talk to me. We can get through it. We can get through anything, remember? But you have to talk to me. Because I don't understand why. So, help me. Help me understand. Please." Alex said, hearing his voice plead. At Jo's silence, Alex's anger became more prominent than his sadness. "Fine. You know what? If you were too chicken to be upfront with me like you've been demanding from me, it's your problem. Have a good life with Jason." Alex said, storming out. Jo never said anything as he was leaving, although he heard her sobs that seemed to get a little louder.

* * *

"Alex, snap out of it." Meredith said, walking beside him.

"I'm trying. But I see her everywhere. And she's with Jason all the time. It's like she's throwing it in my face."

"You need to stop thinking about it. It didn't work, and now it's time to move on."

"I just can't believe someone would end things by just sleeping with someone new."

"Alex, that happens all the time. It sucked that it happened to you, but it's not the end of the world. You will find someone who would never do something to hurt you and cares about you and wants to be there for you."

Alex nodded his head in agreement, but he still wasn't convinced. All he could think about was how many times he pictured Jo as the person he'd spend the rest of his life with. When she had her pregnancy scare, he imagined settling down and getting married and growing old with her. It never even crossed his mind when he was with anyone else. He always thought that was because Jo really was special. But now he had to convince himself it was just because he was scared of getting older, and it had nothing to do with Jo.

"Incoming trauma to the pit. Car ran over a bicycle rider then crashed into another car. One of the passengers was already pronounced dead at the scene." Owen said, rushing to the pit. Meredith and Alex followed behind, with April in front of them.

"What about the one on the bicycle?" April asked.

"He's alive but barely-" Owen started when the ambulance pulled up. The first one out was the man on the bicycle. He looked like he was about in his 30's and when Alex pulled the tarp to reveal his abdomen, Meredith, April, and Owen let out a simultaneous "Oh!". There was a hole where his abdomen should be, and clear tire tracks over his small and large intestine.

"How is he alive?" April asked, in disbelief.

"I don't know, but he needs to get to an ER now!" Owen ordered.

* * *

Alex and Meredith got out of surgery right before midnight.

"The fact that he survived-" Alex started.

"Well not yet- we have to see if he makes it through the night and then if he can make it back in for another surgery tomorrow."

"But still. It's pretty amazing." Alex marveled.

"I guess so." Meredith agreed and smiled.

"Wanna go to Joes? To relax for a minute?"

"I really should get home to Zola and Bailey..."

"Come on Mer. It won't kill ya." Meredith agreed, but made Cristina come to make sure she got home in one piece.

"Alright Alex. We have a mission." Cristina declared, taking a shot.

"Which is?"

"To get you a new goddamn girl!"

"Mer." Alex side-eyed Meredith.

"Just let her do her Cristina thing. She's harmless when she's drunk." Meredith laughed.

"How about her!" Cristina said, pointing to the girl walking into the bar on another guy's arm. Alex turned to see who she was pointing to and felt like he got the wind knocked out of him.

"Cristina, that's Jo. That's who we're avoiding." Meredith said to her best friend, slowly, as if she was talking to a child and not a drunk surgeon.

"Who's Jo?" Cristina asked. Meredith couldn't help but laugh, but then quickly apoligized to Alex, who rolled his eyes.

"Uh-oh, looks like there's trouble in paradise." Meredith said to Alex, gesturing to Jo and Jason fighting. Alex wished he didn't feel that tiny bit of pleasure in it, but he couldn't deny that he did. Then he hated himself for it.

"It's not my problem." Alex said, gesturing Joe for another drink.

"Looks pretty serious." Meredith said.

"Hey hairball!" Cristina said, drunk as can be. Alex widened his eyes at Cristina, then Meredith. Meredith just shrugged like there was nothing she could do.

Jo looked over, and it seemed like she was about to get up by the way she moved. But she looked at Jason, and quickly sat down.

"That's weird." Meredith noted to Alex.

"I don't care." Alex said, convincing himself more than anyone while he took a gulp.

Alex and Meredith sat in silence while Cristina made jokes and asked for more rounds.

"Well, I should probably get going," Meredith announced. "I better take my child home with me or she'll never home." Meredith said looking at Cristina. "Alright, come on," she said, putting Cristina's arm over her shoulder.

"But I wanna staa-aaaaaa-yyy!" Cristina whined.

"I know you do, c'mon. Another night." Cristina left with Meredith. Alex took another sip. There weren't many people here left, and he saw Jo leave with Jason out back about 20 minutes ago. Usually that way means you're about to have sex. Alex, a little drunk and angry leaving, decided to go out back. He figure if he walk in on them having sex, it would ruin the mood, probably. That's at least tonight. He walked out thinking how great his plan was to stop Jason and Jo.

As he stepped outside, the world began to spin in slow motion. He thought of Jo's face the first time she introduced herself, so eager to start learning. He thought of her face the day they snuck a kid into the ER and she stole donuts for him. He thought of her smile, the moment he told her he loved her. He thought of every time he kissed her, so passionate, so full of love, he never wanted to come up for air. He thought of every moment he had ever spent with Jo that led up to this point, and how he didn't see this coming. How he didn't see this happening before his very eyes.

"What the fuck?" He said, still a little out of it.

"Alex go away, you don't need to worry about this." Jo ordered him.

"What the fuck is going on?" Alex demanded.

"You heard her, big man. Go on home." Jason said, too coolly.

"Jo, let's go." Alex said, determined to take her home.

"Alex... I can't." She said, looking at Jason.

"You can't? He controls you?" Alex asked.

"Alex please."

"Jo you have ten seconds to get next to me or I'll come and carry you back to my car."

"Are you sure you wanna be driving in that state?" Jason said calmly, referring to his previous drunks.

"Fuck off Jason." Alex said, not even looking at him. When Jo still hadn't moved, Alex went over to Jo and picked her up like he was carrying a baby.

"Alex put me down!" She yelled.

Jason grabbed on to Alex's shirt. "You might wanna do what she says buddy."

Alex put Jo down and pulled his fast back in one swift move. He punched Jason straight in the jaw and watched him fall. He picked Jo back up, and walked to the hospital across the street, realizing he shouldn't drive. He never even stopped to check on Jason.

"Alex, you should have left me." Jo said, as he let go of her to sitting on a bed in the tunnels. "I could have handled it."

"Did he do this to you?" He asked, his mind on one track to find out.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This chapter is a little bit shorter but explains a lot. Don't hate Jo! She's my favorite in the world. Plz love her it's not her fault.**

**I wasn't gonna update again today but oh well, here I am. It just started flowing in my head while I was reading and I decided to write it out. PS Anyone watching the Voice? LOVE Xtina.**

"Josephine Wilson."

"What, Alex?" Jo said, snapping.

"You need to talk to me."

"About what? About what, Alex?"

"What happened? Did he hurt you like this?" Alex said, handing Jo a pack of ice.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Jo asked, honestly dumbfounded.

"Because."

Jo looked down before she looked up again to meet his eyes. "We got in a fight. It got really bad. When Cristina called me over earlier, he thought I looked at you. That I was still..." Jo looked down again.

"Jo..." Alex's voice was soft, like he was afraid of breaking her.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Alex. We were just friends, I swear. Then one day at lunch I said I was going to find you and he told me sit down. I don't know why I listened... I shouldn't have. The way he spoke... it just scared me somehow. It was like I lost control over myself. Like I was a helpless little girl again..." Jo began to cry. "I got your pages about the 911 on our case. I was in the on call room with him. I kept telling him to let me go- begging him, but he wouldn't let me. I kept telling him no. I loved you. I said no. I said it over and over. But he wouldn't stop..." Jo said stopping to catch her breath.

"He raped you?" Alex said, his voice a mix of heartbreak and anger.

"When I heard you knocking on the door, I thought it was over. But he told me if I don't break it off with you you'll have to pay. I thought it would be easier if you hated me, so I thought I could let you think..."

"That you cheated on me? Oh Jo..."

"He made me stay with him everywhere. I felt so awful Alex. I saw your face every day when I passed with him. I saw how much I was hurting you. I hated every moment of it. I missed you every minute... I'm sorry...I can't expect you to ever forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive." Alex told her. "You need to press charges."

"I can't..." Jo whispered.

"You can't be scared anymore. I'll protect you, this time. I promise."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?" Alex said, trying not to get angry.

"That wasn't the last time he made me have sex with him. And I-I lost it. I hurt him pretty bad. He was unconscious for over an hour. But he woke up fine- I swear. But he threatened me. He said he could press charges if I ever told. He took pictures of all the injuries after he woke up."

"Jo, why did you stay while he was unconscious?"

"Because, I was scared what would happen if he didn't wake up. Or what would happen if he woke up and I wasn't there. I was scared. I hate admitting it, okay? I was scared and it sucked."

"Don't be scared anymore.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Jackson asked Jo, irrigating the wound by her eye.

"Don't worry about it, Avery." Alex snapped, standing nearby with his arms crossed.

"Alex, relax." Jo said, turning to Alex. "It's nothing."

"Whoa what happened here?" Cristina said, walking in.

"It's none of your business." Alex said, annoyed. Jo side-eyed him, as if she was telling him to relax.

"Alright.." Jackson said finishing up, "you should be good to go. But go home and rest for the day. Take it easy killer." Jackson joked.

"I'll take you home." Alex said. Jo raised her eyebrows, because she'd been living at Jasons. "To my house. Home." Alex said, a half smile forming.

"Okay." Jo agreed.

* * *

"Alex..." Jo started. "Do you- you still want me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean after everything. Now you know how messed up I really am. Only me would have something like this happen to her." Jo tried to sound light hearted.

"You don't honestly think that this happening was your fault, do you? Some twisted fate to what you had to deal during your childhood?" Alex waited for an answer, but Jo was silent. "It's not just you. You're the last person it should have happened to. Life is unfair sometimes, but it has nothing to do with you." At this, Jo's eyes looked up. "I told you I was in love with you. No matter how long it takes, I will always love you. I love you so much I can't breathe without you. And I could never be with anyone else after I've known you. So I will wait. No matter how long it takes." Jo smiled at Alex's borrowed words of Jo's when she wanted him back.

"We've been through some pretty serious shit, haven't we?" Jo asked Alex, unable to hold back her smile at the thought.

"It's all worth it though." Alex laughed a little as he kissed her lips. But Alex was not forceful or scary. He was warm, inviting, caring. He was not just kissing her, he was giving her a piece of himself that would be forever hers.

That night, Jo fell asleep in Alex's bed with Alex's arms wrapped around her. But Alex was not trying to contain her, he was trying to save her. She couldn't help the tear that fell off her face and hit Alex's hand, which was curled around her stomach.

She touched her stomach, and thought of the idea of losing Alex again.

I'll tell him eventually, she thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: This chapter was kinda fun to write for me. I hope you guys like it as much as I did :) Right now I'm torn between adding a few more chapters or just an epilogue after this one. **

**Also still throwing ideas around in my mind about a new series, so I hope you guys will check that out! But for this one, definitely talk to me or leave a review about if you'd rather a few more continuations or an epilogue after this. Hopefully after the premiere I'll get some inspirations for a new series ;) Less than 2 days!**

"Hi. " Jo said, her smile audible as she turned to Alex and stretched her arms.

"Hi." Alex responded. "Did you sleep good?"

"Yes." Jo said, still smiling. She reached over to kiss him. "I love you," she confessed.

"I know." Alex said, kissing her deeper. She pulled away and sat up. "What?" He said, innocently confused to why she stopped kissing him.

"You're supposed to say it back!" She shoved his shoulder as he sat up next to her. He was shirtless. She tried to not think about it.

"I love you too, then." He said leaning over to kiss her again. "Better?"

"You're just saying that so I'll have sex with you before work." Jo pouted, kissing him then pulling away.

"You know I'm not." At this, Jo smiled and gave in.

* * *

"Someone got some last night." Callie teased Alex in front of Arizona and Bailey.

"Shut up." Alex said, filling out a chart.

"Why so grumpy if you're getting action?" Callie continued.

"Are you back with Wilson, Karev?" Arizona asked.

"None of your business." Alex scuffed.

"Ain't none of your business being back with someone who hurt you like that." Bailey said, disapprovingly.

"You don't know her," Alex snapped. "So don't act like you do." Alex finished, closing the chart binder sharply.

"What's his problem?" Callie said innocently, as Alex walked away.

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Jo said approaching Alex at the end of the day.

"Yeah." Alex said. "Just a long day."

"Wanna go to Joes?" Jo asked.

"Actually, I have a better idea." Alex looked at Jo's curious face. "I wanna take you out."

"Okay...?"

"On a real date. To a fancy restaurant. Right now."

"But we're in scrubs."

"Okay, not that fancy. But to an actual restaurant, not Joes. Come on."

"Okay, okay." Jo smiled. "I actually have something to tell you anyway." Alex looked at her confused at this. "Don't worry about it. It's not that important. It will be great. Thank you." Jo said and reached up to kiss him. "Are you sure we shouldn't change?" Jo asked.

"No time. Let's go right now." Alex said, ushering her from behind.

"You're crazy." Jo couldn't hold in her laughter as he pushed her out.

At the restaurant, Jo couldn't keep a straight face as Alex asked for a table two. The host looked at him like he was mentally insane, but she guessed it's some hidden rule that you have to be nice to doctors even when you don't want to.

"This is crazy." Jo said, suddenly embarrassed of her attire.

"You look gorgeous, Jo. Don't worry about it." Alex said casually.

"You have to say that." Jo accused.

"I don't have to say anything."

"Yeah-huh. Because-"

"Because what?" Alex challenged.

"You know."

"Because we're together?" Alex said.

Jo felt her heart open inside of her. Being with Alex made her feel she found her place in the world. He made her feel like she was meant for something, because every time she kissed him, she felt she was meant to do it for the rest of her life. She knew she wanted to be with Alex, that she should be with Alex, and yet it wasn't fair to him.

"Alex." She started. "Don't."

"Don't?" Alex questioned. The waitress came over, and instead of ordering appetizers, Alex and Jo placed their order right away. "Don't what?" Alex started as soon as she left.

"I have to tell you something. And it's- it's serious."

"You can tell me anything."

"Don't be nice to me." Jo begged meekly. "Because I'm a horrible person."

"Jo... no you are not. Why are you saying that? What is going on?"

"I'm pregnant."

"What? Jo, I don't think it happens that fast." Alex laughed.

"I found out when I was with Jason." Jo said, her face straight.

The color in Alex's face drained as he looked at her. "Are you sure... you are?"

"I took over 10 pregnancy tests. I don't think they were all wrong."

"They could be." Alex started, hopeful. "Have you been to the doctor?"

Jo shook her head, starting to cry. "I didn't want Jason to find out."

"Well first thing tomorrow, we'll get a blood test. We'll figure it out. Don't worry. You're not alone in this." Alex promised.

"You don't have to do this." Jo said, wiping her cheek.

"I know."

* * *

"Are you scared?" Alex asked, taking Jo's blood.

"No." She said, squeezing Alex's hand.

When Alex brought down her labs, he insisted for rushed results. This time, when Jo went to get the results, he went with her.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded. She didn't say anything after reading the paper. Alex watched a tear roll down her cheek, as she wordlessly handed Alex the paper.

"Okay. You're pregnant. You already knew though, right? Why are you crying? You seemed sure already."

"It just feels so real now." Jo said, losing it.

"It is real. This is life. We can't change what it is, but we can deal with it. It will be okay, Jo." Alex said, comfortingly.

"I don't want to have his baby." She sobbed.

"Then we'll figure it out." Alex assured her.

"Why don't you hate me?" Jo looked at him, with stains on her cheek.

"Because I love you." Alex said, simply.

Later that day, Alex searched for Meredith throughout the hospital. He didn't know if Jo wanted people to know yet, but he had to talk to Meredith. Plus she has kids, and she adopted one, so she probably knows all about that stuff.

"Mer. Can we talk?" Alex said, approaching her.

"Sure." Meredith said looking up. "What's up?"

"It's about Jo. I just need to talk it out."

"Alright, what's going on? Should we sit down?" Alex nodded at Merediths question, and they went to the attendings lounge.

"Jo's pregnant." Alex blurted out.

"That was fast." Meredith laughed. At Alex's serious stare, she continued. "Oh, Alex..."

"I love her, Mer."

"Alex, you can't."

"I have to. I want to be there for her. I can't let her do this alone."

"It's more than that, Alex. I know you love her, I do. But if you're gonna commit to something like this, you need to know you're going to love that baby. You have to know that." Meredith said.

"It's half her. How can I not love it? I have to, right?"

"I don't know Alex. That's up to you."

"Maybe I'm not ready for this. Can I really commit to a life of raising someone else's baby? Isn't it too much?" Alex waited for a response, but not long enough. "But I love her. I don't know, Mer."

"Well, you're going to have to know soon."

* * *

The next day, Jo went to her first ultrasound appointment with Alex by his side. He held her hand, thinking about a future with Jason's baby. He's going to find out once the baby is born, wouldn't he? I mean, the baby is obviously going to be mixed race. What would Jason even do?

"Do you know how far along with you?" The OB asked Jo. She shook her head no.

"Well, I'd say your due date is around May 10. So that would make you about ten weeks."

"Ten weeks? So I'm almost done with my first trimester?" Jo asked, surprised.

"Yes, if you'd look at the development here." She said, pointing at the ultrasound picture. Jo looked at it then looked at Alex, but he didn't seem to understand.

After the OB cleaned up Jo's stomach, she looked at Alex. "Did you hear her?"

"Yeah, ten weeks along. And the baby is healthy." Alex said.

"Do you understand?"

"Understand what?"

"Alex. The first night Jason... Jason.. and I... did it.. was just over a month ago. Almost 5 weeks." Alex's face still wasn't recognizing what she was saying, but as it sunk in, Jo began to cry. "Alex, this baby is yours."


End file.
